The podcast tour makes a stop in the AFC West today, where Ryan and I wonder if the Chargers can regain their rightful spot as the best team in the division.

Oh yes, we also talk about the division champion Chiefs and their ability to overcome the loss of Charlie Weis, who left the team for Florida. We debate the upgrades they made and whether or not they have a shot at repeating. We also talk -- surprise, surprise! -- about Tim Tebow, Kyle Orton and the Broncos.

Oh yes -- life in Oakland after Nnamdi Asomugha! Per usual, we rank the quarterbacks, make our predictions for the division finish and guess the over/unders on games won for each team.

Not so fast my friend -- Fox quickly dismissed any notion that Kyle Orton wasn't running the show in Denver by calling Tebow a "work in progress."

"Quarterbacking-wise, I thought Kyle was sharp and I thought Tim is a work in progress," Fox said, per the Denver Post. "[Tebow] made some things happen. He's learning, and I thought Brady [Quinn] stepped in and did a decent job, scored some points to take the lead."

And as I've saidover and over again, this is John Fox team. He's not exactly inclined to start younger quarterbacks, because he prefers not to see ridiculous mistakes that put his defense in a bad position.

It's highly unlikely that Tebow starts the season (dependent on an Orton injury, really) and it's even less likely that he sees meaningful action during the season as long as the Broncos are in contention, regardless of how many six-for-seven, 90-yard games he puts up during the preseason.

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A brief recap of the Broncos' 2010 season: They won four games. Josh McDaniels was fired after 13 weeks. First-round pick Tim Tebow started the final three games for an injured Kyle Orton, and went 1-2.

Still, for as much as Dolphins fans wanted Orton, Broncos fans seem just as enamored with Tebow. "My last goal playing quarterback is to win over the fans," Orton said Monday, according to the Denver Post. (Note to Henne: this is what you say to the media, not some variation of, "Yeah, that really hurt my feelings.")

"He's a great young man who is really working hard," Broncos Executive VP of Football Operations John Elway told Reilly. "But he didn't get an offseason to work on [playing from the pocket]. He didn't get much of that in college. And it's a completely different thing than the shotgun. Plus, he's only had the one season. But he's an amazing football player. I'd never give up on Tim Tebow."

Well, that's great news. Weeks after it appeared that it was Tebow's job to lose, not only did he lose it, but now Elway won't ever give up on him.

Either way, Orton's the Broncos' starter. The depth chart tells us as much, but according to Reilly there are other indications, too.

“The other way you know it’s over is that Orton is talking to Tebow again. He didn’t talk to him all last year. He told people it was because Tebow was a ‘rookie,’ but it was more than that. Tebow, ever gracious, kept talking with reporters every day. A lot of the players thought he should’ve stopped, in deference to the starter, Orton, who was getting scrums one-tenth the size.”

As PFT notes, the locker room is firmly behind Orton. Even though the fans appear to support Tebow.

"My first goal is to win over my teammates, to win over my coaches, and I think I'm well on my way to doing that," said Orton on Monday.

"I'll tell you this, just my nature, I am very much a people pleaser," Tebow said last week. "I like making people smile."

Apparently, those people don't include the Broncos' front office and coaching staff making out the depth chart. Or Merril Hoge.

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The Broncos will face the Cowboys on Thursday in both teams’ first preseason game, and since we’re only a few days before kickoff, we get to see the official depth chart. As we expected -- based on the reports that Kyle Orton is playing well above Tim Tebow in practice -- Tebow is not the starting quarterback.

After an offseason filled with promise, the reality of what it means to be an NFL quarterback has slapped Tim Tebow across the face. It wasn't long ago that Tebow was thought to be the Broncos' future. Kyle Orton was on the trading block, the team's 2010 first-round pick would assume his role under center and get Denver back to winning and the playoffs, all would be right with the world.

"My dream, since I was a young boy, of being a starting quarterback in the NFL seemed to be coming true," Tebow told Paige. "Then, I felt like it was grabbed back away. . . ."

Tebow, we think, is referring to the trade-that-didn't-materialize that would've shipped Orton out of town. While new head coach John Fox has publicly stated that the job is Orton's, the word on the street is that he will be under center when the Broncos begin the season.

As for the media criticism, Tebow, like Chad Henne in Miami, has had trouble ignoring it.

"I'm trying to insulate myself from what people in the media are saying, but I've seen some of it, and it hurts because it's coming from people who haven't seen me practice, haven't seen me play, haven't seen what I can do," he said, according to Paige. "I did an interview the other day with someone on the NFL Network who said last year I'd never play a down in the NFL. He was wrong.

"Others who say I won't make it are wrong. They don't know what I'm capable of and what's inside me. My family and my friends have been bothered by what's gone on, and I tell them to pay no attention to it. I'm relying as always on my faith."

As we mentioned on Friday's Eye on Football Podcast, we think most people would agree that Orton gives the Broncos the best chance to win now, although Tebow could one day be an NFL starting QB. It's just that the day hasn't arrived yet. So while Hoge's sentiments aren't particularly controversial, the way he delivered them clearly rubbed some people the wrong way, including Tebow.

So is that a problem? Or is public criticism part of the implicit deal professional athletes make when they sign lucrative contracts and play on national television every week?

Because, clearly, Tebow and Henne would disagree with that last paragraph.

We think most rational folks would agree that Kyle Orton gives the Broncos the best chance to win now, although Tebow could one day be an NFL starting QB. It's just that the day hasn't arrived yet. So while Hoge's sentiments aren't particularly controversial, the way he delivered them clearly rubbed some people the wrong way, including Tebow. So is that a problem? Or is public criticism part of the implicit deal professional athletes make when they sign lucrative contracts and play on national television every week?

Finally, some happy news to report out of Dolphins training camp. After a week that included "We want Orton!" chants from fans (during a fan appreciation event, no less), and the inevitable Brett Favre un-retirement discussions, Miami starting quarterback Chad Henne can take heart in knowing that he has supporters in South Beach.

Unless they were being ironical.

We like to assume the best in people so we're going with the former. Either way, the Palm Beach Post's Ben Volin reports that a group of fans chanted "We want Henne!" prior to Thursday's practice and -- lo and behold -- Henne had one of his best performances of training camp.

While Henne has been in the public crosshairs recently, he's not guaranteed the starting gig -- although Sparano admitted Thursday that "He is the starter right now." But Sparano also said "We always have our eyes open. But the players that are here right now, we're preparing to go into the New England Patriot game and play with."

Yes, Kyle Orton would have been an upgrade, but let's not confuse him for Dan Marino. (If you need a quick reminder of the Dolphins QBs since Marino retired in 1999, here you go. We hope you're sitting down.) So for now, Henne's only competition is Matt Moore, formerly of the Panthers.

Here's to hoping this is the year Henne puts it all together. He seems like a swell guy and, frankly, it makes us uncomfortable to read quotes like this.

"Deep down inside, it does hurt," Henne said of the "We want Orton!" chants. "Obviously you want the respect of the fans and you want them to have your back. If you're a Miami Dolphins fan, hopefully you're cheering for the Miami Dolphins and the players out there, not somebody that's not here."

And for a night that's what happened. How long it lasts depends on how well Henne plays, obviously. This is the NFL, after all.

Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano gets points for honesty, although that quality alone won't be enough to make Chad Henne a consistent NFL quarterback or insure that Sparano keeps his job. We mention this because during a Dolphins practice Monday night at Sun Life Stadium, the fans broke out in a "We want Orton!" chant. Apparently, everybody heard it, including the players and coaches.

The Sun-Sentinel's Andrew Carter was on hand and provides the awkward, uncomfortable details.

"The chant referenced, of course, Kyle Orton. He’s the Denver quarterback whom the Dolphins showed interest in acquiring before the start of preseason practice. And the chant came, as you’d expect it to, after Miami quarterback Chad Henne struggled a bit during that Monday night practice.

"First, fans booed Henne. Booed him after incomplete passes. Booed him after he didn’t throw down the field. Booed him when he threw an interception that wasn’t even really his fault. Then, it got uglier. Then, the “we want Orton” chant started and gained momentum and volume."

When asked about it Wednesday, Sparano got right to the point.

“Beside the fact that it really makes me sick?” he said, according to Carter. “That would be it.”

This is what happens to a fan base exasperated by the recent run on mediocrity at the quarterback position. Since Dan Marino retired after the 1999 season, we've seen the likes of Jay Fiedler, AJ Feeley, Sage Rosenfels, Gus Frerotte, Daunte Culpepper, Joey Harrington, Cleo Lemon, John Beck, Trent Green, Chad Pennington and Henne. It's enough to, well, make you scream for Kyle Orton.

We're sure Sparano shares the fans' frustrations, but he questions their methods. Specifically, Monday's practice was part of a fan appreciation event. “I think that when people come to the stadium like that in one of those kinds of events, OK, to support the Miami Dolphins, that what we should be thinking about,” he said. “That’s what I think.”

Sparano then admitted that, ultimately, he's unconcerned about such stuff. “I’m not worried about any of that. I’m not worried about how it affects anybody. We’re all big boys here, OK. I’m just talking about taking my team to the stadium, OK, in one of those situations and the reason why we did it, OK, and then to see that happen – it’s just disappointing to me.”

Orton to the Dolphins would have made a lot of sense (certainly more sense than signing Reggie Bush), but it appears that ship has sailed. According to reports, the Broncos aren't as high on Tim Tebow as it may have seemed this offseason, and they have every intention of not only keeping Orton in Denver but installing him as the starter.